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Plant Life

Borland Lodge, gateway to the Fiordland National Park, makes a handy base from which to explore the botany of the region. The forest here is beech forest, with the dominant tree species mountain beech and silver beech. There are other trees as well and an abundance of shrubs and ferns.

The Borland Nature Walk is a good introduction to the plant life of the Borland area.

The Fiordland National Park entrance at Borland Lodge takes you up the Borland road to the Borland Saddle (988-m) through mountain vegetation to the treeline. A short hike up the track from the saddle carpark brings you to the tussock-covered tops with a wonderful array of mountain species -- hebes, aciphyllas, celmisias, dracophyllums and many others.

Along the Borland Road near the Borland Saddle you might see the famous Mount Cook Buttercup.

The Borland area features the mistletoes which are common on beech trees and the colourful autumn fungi. Mosses and lichens and many fern species complete a picture of unspoiled nature. The drier roadsides towards Lake Monowai are another habitat with manuka and bog-pine supporting their own communities of insects and birds.

The Borland Mire, an extensive wetland close to the Lodge, is a DOC reserve with a range of species tolerant of 'wet feet'.

Aciphylla crosby-smithii

A small speargrass that forms cushions up to 60 cm across. It is confined to Southern Fiordland and is common on
Mt Burns.

Geum uniflorum

A member of the rose family related to the familiar Geums of the garden. Found in moist situations in mountains throughout the South Island.

Ourisia sessilifolia

A creeping herb with showy flowers. Widespread in the mountains of the South Island.

Mt Cook Buttercup

Ranunculus lyallii

Mount Cook Buttercup
Borland Road -- Mt Burns

Bulbinella gibbsii var balanifera

A member of the lily family,

typically found in the high rainfall areas of Western South Island

Euphrasia integrrifolia

An eyebright. Confined to the mountains of Southern Fiordland where it grows in damp situations.

Myosotis pulvinaris

A tiny cushion forget-me-not. Typically a plant of the drier Central Otago ranges but reaches its western-most limit on Mt Burns.